WWE Smackdown Results, Questions and Comments (December 17th)

The work week is done, Green Day is being played at 8 pm on the SyFy Network; it must be time for Smackdown! With only a matter of hours remaining prior to the TLC pay-per- view, what does the Blue Show have in store for us? Let's find out.

Every week I do one of these columns for GuysNation.com, my little piece of the internet, which I'd be more than thrilled if you viewed on occasion to help me continue to carve my niche while finding things that might interest you.

This week, I'm doing things a little differently, and I am interested to see whether you like this version of my write-ups more or less than the way I normally do things.

What's the difference? I'm not going to go bit-by-bit tonight. I'm going to try to break it down into sections.

Let's see how it works out.

In the opening segment, I do have a few comments to make, which is going to ruin the idea that I'm doing things differently, because this is how I normally do things.

Did Michael Cole just refer to Edge talking smack about him "last night"? Did anyone else wonder if they should start watching Superstars on WGN? That would've been the only WWE spot on Thursday nights, which was last night, since Michael Cole isn't referring to the fact that Smackdown is taped on Tuesdays, right? Not that it would be a disaster, but it's not something they like to talk about.

Edge's video where he did a recap of his antics over the past few weeks set to the Benny Hill music was a nice way to sum up all of that absurdity. Do you think he was as bored with all of it as most of us were? Did the WWE Creative team finally realize how absurd it was, or did they intend for it to be absurd all along? I'm just glad that we won't see Paul Bearer pushed around the back halls of the arena all night tonight.

Is anyone else impressed that The Miz got to be on Jimmy Fallon? I realize that being the WWE World Champion is kind of a big deal, but this isn't John Cena, The Rock or Triple H here. I don't even think Randy Orton has been on the late night talk shows, and he has held the belt a few times.

I suppose there's an element of reality television in there, with The Miz being on Real World back in the day, but it's not like that's a show on the lines of Survivor where the whole world would know about it. And it's not like Jimmy Fallon is the top late show host out there, but he does good work, so it's impressive that The Miz was on there. It's a shame that WWE didn't give us any notice, or I would've set my DVR.

Teddy Long is questioning whether or not Kane was actually going to be showing up this weekend because of what Edge caused him to do to Paul Bearer last week. Doesn't he think Kane is going to want some revenge? I don't know what show Teddy Long has been attending, but the one I've been seeing the past couple months tells me that Kane is going to want to tear Edge limb from limb.

I suppose it makes sense to put Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio into a fatal four-way for the World Title, but only because of the background information I heard about Rey Mysterio needing surgery on his arm, meaning Alberto Del Rio won't be left on the card, and you can't exactly add him to the World Title match without a reason.

Match—Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston & Kaval

Should we just call this the Intercontinental Title Division Tag Match?

They essentially split the division in two, as these guys represent the entire group of folks who battled for the belt over the past few months. I suppose it is a good way to help preview the upcoming pay-per-view match, but it certainly doesn't do anything to help build up the tag-team division at all. They could have paired Kofi up with someone like JTG who wouldn't be a potential Intercontinental Title division guy, but with whom he could build up some chemistry so that Kofi could move into the tag division when not fighting for the IC belt.

Right about now, I'm sure half of the readers are thinking that Kofi should be moving up toward the World Title, and the other half of the readers either don't like Kofi at all or they see him as being an IC champ soon.

On GuysNation, we'll definitely be checking to see which category you fall into.

Outcome—Kofi Kingston picks up the victory for himself and Kaval with a kick to the head.

After the match, Jack Swagger knocks out Dolph Ziggler, and as Vickie Guerrero is screaming her lungs out (and annoying me to no end), I can't help but think that it could be a really good option for Jack Swagger to be the one who comes home with the Intercontinental Championship. WWE doesn't seem to be interested in having Swagger and Ziggler fight in a straight-up match, and honestly, I don't want Kofi Kingston to be a transitional champ in the division.

Is anyone else thinking that JTG seems awkward in the STR8 OUTTA BROOKLYN segment now that he doesn't have Shad Gaspard. I don't imagine WWE is saving THAT much money by having released the other half of Cryme Tyme.

An interesting segment backstage with Kelly Kelly and Drew McIntyre, and it makes me wonder just how frequently people awkwardly flirt with Kelly Kelly backstage. I did like how Kaitlyn stepped up and made an excuse for why Kelly had plans that evening so she didn't have to make up an excuse for herself with McIntyre. Could this be the start of a face turn for McIntyre? Is Kaitlyn going to prove to be a bit too enamored with Kelly Kelly like we saw years ago with Trish Stratus and Mickie James?

For the first time in a while that I can remember, we get a Tips To Be Dashing segment from Cody Rhodes which isn't a repeat—but yet again, it blows—this time, literally. Do people really need tips on HOW to blow dry their hair? I haven't used a hairdryer in years, and I'm pretty sure I'd figure out how to use it if needed.

Match—Cody Rhodes vs. Chris Masters

The segment from last week where Chris Masters had Cody in the Masterlock actually pays off a little bit, giving a little history behind this match, making us care at least a little bit about this match.

Outcome—Cody Rhodes wins with the Cross-Rhodes in relatively short fashion, and I'm surprised by it. I think the segment from last week featuring the Masterlock challenge actually lasted longer.

Match—Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz

We get the rematch from this week's RAW, and for the first time in a long while, both competitors in this match...are wearing black. Does anyone else find that to be a weird occurrence? Most guys have colors mixed in with their attire, especially Rey Mysterio, but tonight, neither one of them has a hint of hue, which viewers watching black and white televisions would miss out on.

Are there even black and white televisions anymore, given the switch to all digital? I'd be hard pressed to find someone who still has one. Chances are good that those folks aren't surfing the internet.

It's good that The Miz is getting some matches with Rey Mysterio, because it can really help show his in-ring skills. Not only is Mysterio a smaller competitor whom The Miz can toss around a bit, but Rey is fairly good with in-ring psychology and selling injuries, so this helps build The Miz's reputation as a wrestler.

It's far better than having him in the ring against John Morrison (who's good at doing high excitement-inducing spots), or John Cena (who, a lot of folks claim, "can't wrestle"). As a matter of fact, the WWE has been doing this at least for a few months, because Daniel Bryan (Danielson) also helps to that end. To a similar extent, Jerry Lawler helped a bit as well. It's times like these where WWE could use Chris Jericho back, but it's good that Triple H isn't around, because he has a tendency to overshadow folks like The Miz.

Was anyone else really impressed by Rey Mysterio's dropkick through the ropes to hit Alberto Del Rio? It was right on the money, and somehow Mysterio was able to stop himself on the ring apron, putting himself right into a seated position without his feet even hitting the floor.

Outcome—The Miz gets the victory as Alberto Del Rio causes a hiccup in the match, opening up a small opportunity such that The Miz gets his knees up when Mysterio goes for a springboard splash.

I was wondering what the main event of the evening was going to be, with this match happening only halfway through the show. The tag match featuring Alberto Del Rio teaming up with The Miz to take on Edge and Rey Mysterio actually seems like a fun time.

What are the odds that the former tag-team champs Rey and Edge win the match, then we get a little tension built between the two of them for the World Title match at the TLC PPV, only to have Kane end the evening by showing up and having fire burst from the corners? I might be writing this article after the show is over, but I haven't watched it yet, nor would I dream of reading spoilers, but I'm smart enough to know that Kane is going to be at the pay-per-view and they want to let us know about that before this week's Blue Show is over.

So LayCool shows up and they're not happy about the Tables Match they're booked in for the TLC PPV, and should we be surprised? I think they have a legit worry about being broken in half, but that's up to WWE to deal with. I'd be really surprised if either of them gets put through a table on the pay per view—at least not without being super protected.

Originally I shook my head with a sigh when I saw the "gift" being brought to the ring by Natalya and Beth Phoenix, but how great was it when they revealed that not only was it a table they were bringing to the ring, but the table was painted to include the flawed likenesses of Layla and Michelle?

And as a sidenote, did Michelle McCool not even mention the fact that she won a Slammy? I would've thought she would've wanted to play up that fact, although I will admit to nodding off a little bit when she's talking—or I'm staring at the MUCH hotter Layla.

Chavo had Drew McIntyre as a tag-team partner last week, and this week he picks Tyler Reks? Either McIntyre is being deflated, Chavo is downgrading his ability to find quality tag-team partners, or Tyler Reks is getting an increase in his push. I could enjoy a Chavo-Reks tag-team, but we'll need to see more from them backstage. I wouldn't want them to beat Kozlov and Marella for the belts, though.

As another sidenote, I like the idea of Santino and Kozlov being on Smackdown better than seeing them on RAW. They do comedy on whichever show they're on, but they just seem to FIT on Smackdown.

For my perspective on the rest of the show, as well as opportunities to vote in nearly a dozen polls about the night (including the chance to rate the entire show as a whole), view the full version of this article over at my site (www.GuysNation.com), where you might just find some other things you'll enjoy.